


Steeped in Twilight

by LittleBlueNayru



Series: Take Us Back [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Angst, Confusion, M/M, Memory Loss, Multi, welcome to angstytown probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2018-11-29 09:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11437704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleBlueNayru/pseuds/LittleBlueNayru
Summary: Saving Hyrule is more important than nursing a century-old grudge.  That's the only reason Revali decides to take a more active role in assisting Link as he battles his way across Hyrule to stop the impending apocalypse.   And he needs it, too, because with the awakening of memories both familiar and foreign, it seems as though Link will have to fight an inner battle piercing both life and time before he can take on the Calamity.(In which memories of the Hero's previous lives fill the gap and do anything but help.  Mostly Twilight Princess focused.)





	1. In the Heavens

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm finishing up my other story but since it's like "fluff what's that" I needed to start writing something a bit more serious to unclog. 
> 
> Story summary really says it all. Note that this story takes place under the assumption that BotW follows the Child Timeline (SS-MC-FS-OoT-MM-TP-FSA----BotW) based on Zelda's dialogue in the English version of Memory 1.  
> Apparently in German she says something like "whether the hero crosses the sea, or forges a link to the distant past", so the line was more of an easter egg rather than canon confirmation, or something.  
> When Nintendo releases the official Breath of the Bible-d, we'll have a canon answer (placing my money on Downfall, reluctantly), but for the sake of this story it's Child Timeline.
> 
> But for now, enjoy an angsty fic starring Link and Revali which will hopefully become RevaLink because OTPlz.

One hundred years has messed with his head.  
  
He cannot describe it fully.  One hundred years of being awake but not alive.  One hundred years of pure solitude, but shared with the cursed blight that killed him.  One hundred years of being trapped in Vah Medoh, of knowing nothing, but observing all of Hyrule's cataclysmic downfall, and tragic, slow demise afterwards.  One hundred years of seeing everything and knowing nothing, and the second the Travel Gate glows to life it takes him a moment to place the person he just _knows_ showed up.  
  
"Making me wait one hundred years is a bit... indulgent," Revali sneers, because he's not about to let Link know how glad he is to be able to communicate with somebody, anybody, other than the Blight that has howled rage and wrath at him nonstop for a century.  Link looks up as though searching for Revali, but he has to know Revali is dead.    
  
Still, the mere _boy_ won't be able to save Hyrule without Medoh's help, and Revali's century-long resentment of Link pales in comparison to the toxic vitriol he feels for Ganon.  Windblight would know - they've become well acquainted with their respective hatreds over the last one hundred years.  So Revali puts on airs as he guides Link through his Beast with his disembodied voice, knowing all the while that if he still had a body, even an incorporeal one, he would jump at the chance to assist Link, lead him through the hallways, show him all the mechanisms, just to get back at the demon that bested him.  Just to make sure the rest of Hyrule doesn't follow him to the grave.  
  
And, from his place in nowhere, he observes.  Link seems confused as to where things are - not surprising, given that Revali had never brought Medoh low enough for Link to board, but the Divine Beasts have similar engineering at heart, and years of following Zelda like a puppy should have given him some idea of what to expect.  His eyes sometimes glaze over, once he almost tries to walk across a metal beam far too narrow to support him, and he seems bothered by headaches of some sort.  After Link eyes some railing across a chasm and fails to find whatever weapon he wanted in his inventory, he pauses and actually takes a seat, looking both frustrated and lost.  The hesitation is short-lived, however.  Link composes himself and takes a good long pause to compare the Slate's map with his surroundings, then forges his way through the Beast with practiced ease.  Revali almost convinces himself he's imagined it.  
  
Then Link seems to have trouble with the guardians and the cursed skulls spit out by the Malice.  He lets a shot through his guard that never would have gotten close to him back in the glory days of the Knights.  He stops to eat his packed meals more often than the Hylian Champion that Revali remembers - or maybe he's just trying to give Link's gluttony the benefit of the doubt.  Yet that Hylian Champion would wear himself down to the bone and only stop if directly ordered by one of his superiors or the other Champions.  He seems weaker.  It displeases Revali.  It pleases him.  It makes him worried.  
  
Why, exactly, had Link taken a hundred years, anyway?  From his prison and grave, he'd heard Rito whisperings about the death of all five Champions.  He'd never been sure whether or not to believe them.  He hadn't wanted to believe them.  And Link is here, alive and fighting, so clearly the rumors were wrong.  But something must have kept him back for so long.  He puts the thought aside to ponder later.  Time is of the essence.  
  
As much as he would love to preen over Link's decline in strength, Hyrule has run out of time.  Link cannot fail here no matter what.  So after Link activates the last terminal, as he makes his way towards the main control unit, Revali speaks again.  
  
"Wait, Link."  
  
Link comes to a stop.  
  
"The demon that bested me - Windblight Ganon - still possesses Medoh.  It will not relinquish control without a fight to the death.  I can feel it fester with rage that you have activated the Divine Beast.  Once you start the main control unit, it will attack you.  Take this time to check your armor, your weapons, your curatives."  
  
Link blinks, nods, and sets to doing just that.  Revali inspects his work.  He has an impressive handful of bows - nothing compared to his, of course, but worth a tail feather or two - and an alarmingly large hoard of arrows of all kinds - even some tipped with glowing blue blades that scream of ancient Sheikah handiwork.  He has powerful blades, even his precious darkness-sealing sword.  He's acquired the famed Hylian Shield that the Royal Family bestowed only upon the best of the best, and Revali restrains a huff.  Link will need it.  His armor is in prime condition, his clothing is suitable for the cold, his stores of elixirs are numerous, and his resolve is unshakeable.  As Link eats a hearty truffle on a skewer, Revali describes his own battle with Windblight - the attacks, the rage, and his own bitter defeat.  
  
Hyrule is far more important than his old unreciprocated rivalry, he tells himself as he hates the story he recalls.  
  
At least he can console himself that it's worth it.  Link activates the control unit and does not even flinch as Malice erupts from the machine and entwines itself with ancient energy to form the monstrosity that Revali can't keep himself from hissing at from beyond the grave.  "Good luck!  Remember that it plays dirty," Revali spits, and then he falls silent because the last thing a warrior needs is distraction.  
  
And Link charges with a controlled ferocity that would make any warrior proud.  Apparently he'd looted multi-shot bows from several Lynels, and mercilessly pummels Windblight in the face with an ancient arrow volley.  In no time at all the demon is in its death throes, and Revali decides that it's better to be relieved and proud rather than bitter and jealous.  
  
But then, Link puts on quite the display.  In a maneuver neither Revali nor Windblight expect, Link rides the updrafts and stuns Windblight in place with a well-timed toss of his great thunderblade, and then he's landing on Windblight's back, hacking away at the center while the Master Sword glows with holy light, and suddenly a horrible screaming fills the air as Malice spills and dissipates.  Before Revali can really take in what just happened the demon is gone, and Link has collected its purified life force, and the main terminal glows the proper color, and suddenly Revali has a form again.  
  
A spirit form, but at least he can manifest.  "Well I'll be plucked..."  
  
_Perhaps not so weak after all._  
  
He swallows his pride and accepts Link as a warrior, and because his power over the wind is useless to him now, he concentrates that small portion of his soul and bestows it upon Link to use whenever he needs.  
  
"I must say... that maneuver you did at the end there was a bit much," he quips, and he's surprised to see Link _wince_.  But then the Hero begins to glow golden as Revali sends him back down to the village, and he continues.  "I'm going to set Medoh's sights on the castle now.  Your job is far from finished, you know.  You've kept the Princess waiting for a hundred years."  
  
A hundred years.  Of being awake but not alive, of being unaware yet acutely, painfully so.  Of utter solitude, and the omnipresent oppressive company of his killer.  All brought to an end in the space of a day by the Champion who only ever saw him as an ally and not a rival despite Revali's antagonism.  The one who outshines them all.  Revali turns so he does not see Link depart, so Link does not see whatever emotion warps his face.  
  
But once Medoh takes his perch and focuses his bead on the castle's sanctum, Revali notices something curious.  
  
Rudania does not glare down the mountain at evil's den.  Naboris does not fix her bloodthirsty grin on her oppressor.  Ruta does not patrol above her domain as she did a century prior.  No, not a single other Divine Beast stands poised and ready to attack.    
  
Mipha had truly loved Link, and while she made it clear that she considered equally important the side of her that was a Champion and the side of her that was the Zora Princess hopefully betrothed to Link, she always put Champion first, given the imminent doomsday.  Urbosa watched over her fellow Champions with a fierce yet motherly caring, and was always the one to assure Link that Zelda did not hate him.  Daruk bantered with Link despite his silence, and never once lost faith in their assigned roles.  Revali is the only one who ever questioned Link's merit or thought to challenge it.  Revali is the only one who ever resented Link for being chosen as the Hero, the Champion who stood superior to all the rest.  Revali is the only one who did not entirely quash his doubts, worries, frustrations, or selfish problems under the weight of preparing for Hyrule's clash with destiny.  
  
Yet he is the first liberated. It makes no sense.  
  
_Why?_  
  
He is alone... and confused.  
  
Revali stares out over Hyrule as the sun sets at his back and the blood moon rises once again, and finds no answers in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It occurred to me throughout the game and exploring the dialogue of the Champion Spirits that none of them allude to Link's lost memories or even death. Zelda has kept tabs on him since his revival, but the other Champions only address Link when he's within their beasts, so they could have access to much less information than Zelda.
> 
> And while I take great pleasure in the stories that show off Revali's immaturity, I think the gravity of their situation would suggest that in canon, he's not so immature that he would severely hinder the other Champions' efforts to become as strong as possible.


	2. In the Snowy Mountain Heights

He spends the next day or two lost in thought, watching the sun arc across the sky.  
  
None of the other Divine Beasts rise from their corruption to join Vah Medoh in locking on to the evil in the heart of the castle.  It's curious.  Somewhat alarming.  Scratch that, _severely_ alarming.  Link cannot hope to take on the Calamity with just Vah Medoh's power.  What in the Goddess' name is he doing?  
  
It's only when Revali starts actively searching for Link that he becomes aware that he's doing it through the connection of his Gales.  He starts when he realizes he's aware of when Link uses it, and how long it takes to accrue the power to summon a few more.  He tries not to preen as he realizes Link has not been shy about using his newfound power of limited flight.  
  
More importantly, as Revali finds out later that day, he can communicate with Link.  It seems that because part of his soul rests with Link, Revali now has a channel to use.  
  
He devotes the rest of the day to focusing on what little he can make of the Hero's journey, to acclimate himself to the strange new sense.  When Link seems to settle down for the night, Revali closes his eyes on the stunning view of Tabantha and transfers most of his awareness to the part of his soul that rests with the Gale.    
  
It seems to work.  The fact that he's aware of Link pausing whatever he's doing (cooking dinner, and the fact that he knows that is yet more proof) means that he's likely aware of Revali's arrival.  Another awareness, nebulous and unreadable, exists in the nowhere, and intuitively the Rito Champion knows that awareness belongs to Link.  If he were to reach out with more effort he might establish some sort of telepathy.  Instead he works to manifest here, instead.  It takes a combination of half-remembered studies, instinct, and dumb luck, but Revali pulls it off and finds Link blinking up at him, dumbfounded, his steak seared way past the point of edibility.  

Mirth enters Revali's eyes.  "Your dinner's burning."  
  
Link startles, glances down, and scowls at the charred slab on a stick.  While Link throws it away and takes out another slab of raw meat, Revali inspects their surroundings with surprise.  "... Hebra?  What in the Goddess' name are you doing in _deep Hebra_?" he asks, a little sharply.  The effort it took to get here and the exhilaration of succeeding recede when he recalls his reason for doing so in the first place.  Link's negligence of his duties.  
  
But the Hylian Champion seems as mute as ever, busying himself with setting up the meat for another go.  More irritation bubbles up, so Revali takes to pacing and speaking at the same time.    
  
"With Medoh in position I can monitor the castle from the small part of my soul that remains tethered to the control unit.  Therefore, I am free to accompany you.  I think I shall, because I noticed something curious when Medoh landed."  He narrows his eyes at Link, who barely spares him a glance.  "You've been sleeping on your ass for the last hundred years and I find Ganon perhaps a couple months away from consuming Hyrule, and none of the other Divine Beasts are rallied to our cause.  Why. Is. That."  
  
Link says nothing.  Revali expected nothing different but he's angry all the same.  No explanations, no contrition, no urgency.  Hyrule's days are truly numbered.  He only marginally calms as he sees Link's hands twitch.  The sign language, he vaguely recalls.  It's yet another Sheikah creation, one that their warriors used to communicate in battle in complete silence.  They shared it with the Hylians as they shared everything with the Hylians.  Unfortunately, only Mipha and Zelda could translate for Link, and neither of them is here.  Revali knows only a few signs, but he catches "Sheikah", and fingers spelling Zelda's name.  
  
When Link sees that Revali clearly does not understand, he pulls out - The Sheikah Slate?  "I thought that belonged to Zelda," he says quickly.  Link taps it a few times and holds it up to Revali, so the Rito can read.  
  
Revali blinks, not quite sure what he's looking at.  Then he notices the text, and some landmarks, and- "a map?"  He keeps looking.  He can make out the contours of the Plateau, and there's text saying as much, and there's a few glowing symbols on the Plateau, and the one that the center of the strange mural reads...  
  
_Shrine of Resurrection._  
  
_...Ah._  
  
So the goddess had seen it fit to cheat death for the Hylian failure but not the Rito one.  
  
Despite lacking a physical body, Revali can practically feel bile in his throat.  "It would seem the rumors I heard whispered for a century, that all the Champions died, were not incorrect after all," he muttered.  
  
Link had died.  The Princess had offered herself up to Ganon to keep him from terrorizing the land, ever hopeful that her Hero would return.  
  
Suddenly the map is pulled from his view as Link studies the Slate intensely.  For a few minutes his fingers seem to assault it wildly, but he does not allow Revali to look.  Finally he turns it around.  The strange surface has changed again - it shows a larger portion of Hyrule's map.  Link taps his finger to the bottom-right of the Slate's image, and Revali notices some text in the lower right.  
  
"Eventide Island," he reads, thoroughly unimpressed.  
  
Link manages to look even more thoroughly unimpressed and taps below the Island.  
  
"Died.  Zelda had me taken to Shrine of R.  100 years.  Woke up.  King's Spirit guide me.  Lost-"  
  
Lost memories?  Revali glances sharply at Link, and the face that stares back guilelessly confirms the truth.  "So you don't remember anything?"  
  
Once again Link pulls the Slate back and taps furiously.  It would have been easier to write it out with a stick than plink aggressively, but whatever.  It takes a few minutes before another wall of disjointed text appears in front of him.  
  
"Traveled Hyrule.  Shrines-trials-monks-Spirit Orbs-power.  No memory.  Impa Purah Sheikah Slate pictures Zelda.   Found memories.  Remember most now."  
  
It's extremely clipped, but what Revali guesses is that Link woke up on the Central Plateau with no memory, and the King's Spirit met him and told him how to find the people who could help him.  Using Zelda's pictures, he guesses.  He's not sure about the Shrines thing, though he is aware of the structures that appeared across Hyrule during the great excavations.  
  
"So do you remember me?  The others?  What you need to do before Calamity Ganon fully regains his power and consumes everything?"  
  
Link nods, brow furrowed.    
  
And all the righteous anger comes boiling back.  Revali snaps, clacking his beak for emphasis.  "Then why aren't you doing it?"  
  
This time, Link doesn't meet his gaze... but it seems as though he... can't.  
  
"You have power.  You have the Master Sword.  You have the opportunity to free the Divine Beasts.  So do it.  The world won't wait forever, you know."  
  
Link still doesn't have a response, and Revali huffs and studies the frozen wasteland.  It's several minutes later that Link has to get his attention by shoving the Sheikah Slate in his face.  
  
"What the hell!  I don't need my face right up in that thing to read!  What do you want, anyway?!  ... Do.... yetis.... live in Hebra?" he recites, testing the foreign word on his tongue.  
  
Link nods and withdraws the Slate.  
  
Revali is silent for a long moment while he gathers his roiled emotions and confused thoughts.  "Well.  That would depend... on what yetis _are_."  
  
That seems to confirm something for Link, and for a second the mostly-impassive mask seems to shatter, and Revali is left reeling at possibly the most forlorn look he has ever encountered in his life.  Even after her failure at the Spring of Wisdom, Zelda managed to keep herself mostly composed, in silent grief.  Link, however, looks like he threw everything he had at the Calamity and failed.  
  
... Which, Revali supposes he technically did, but still.  "What?" he asks, a little sharper than he intends.  
  
And all he gets for his trouble of reaching out to his hopelessly scatterbrained rival is a rather violent shake of the head.  Link pulls out the great flameblade and the meteor rod he's acquired, and, with the addition of the campfire, sets the heat sources up in a triangle configuration so he can sleep more comfortably in between the three of them.  No matter how Revali presses the matter, the Hero doesn't respond.  
  
Finally Link drifts off to sleep, leaving Revali fuming because he failed to extract an answer.  He can't feel the cold, but he doesn't feel like manifesting all night long while Link sleeps.  Fuming, he decides to retreat into the nowhere, and commits himself to focusing on getting back there with one last glare at the Hylian Champion.  
  
It gives him no solace that his last impression of the physical world is of Link's face twisted in discomfort, hiding a tempest within.


	3. In the Grip of Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of streams of consciousness in this chapter; author advises reading slowly and only after consumption of sufficient caffeine.

"You on spiritual journey?  Looking to find yourself, uh?"

The yeti had barely noticed the battle behind him.  He heard a commotion, and it was 'just a human'... (and some Twilit Shadow Beasts)  
  
The crisp, frigid scent of snowy mountain air - utterly overwhelmed by a pungent scent.  And a loud guffaw.  "You look long time!  Come far!"  Yeto holding the aptly-named reekfish, waving it around dangerously, and what felt like a small hand gripping at his boot...  
  
An abandoned citadel hiding in the mountains, it must have once served as a luxurious manor and an impenetrable fortress, it's a shame that the yetis have had to retreat to the front rooms, the rest has been overtaken by ice and evil...  
  
And an ornate bedroom...  
  
"So.... pretty...."  
  
But there's something wrong.  Yeta is twitching.  And- her face literally swivels into something demonic _red eyes bared fangs_

_**"NOT TAKE MIRROR!!!"** _

* * *

Revali jolts awake, and in doing so, flings his awareness out of the nowhere and back into the physical realm, where he materializes in an absolutely graceless tumble of feathers.  (It's a small comfort no one witnesses his _spirit tumbling_ , as that would be more embarrassing than tumbling as a physical entity.)  
  
What... what _was_ that thing??  
  
Despite the horror, he desperately tries to hold on to retreating wisps of the nightmare.  He knew that woman, Yeta, she was the sick wife of the yeti who invited them to his home, that abandoned citadel isolated in the mountains, to take away the Mirror Shard...  ice armor bitter cold worse than Hebra _it's called Snowpeak_ -  
  
And then the rest of it vanishes, the context of the completed puzzle fades even as Revali adds the last pieces to it, the faint whispers of understanding have drifted away on the frigid wind.  Yeti.  Manor.  Mirror?  
  
Only then does Revali realize two things: the first, that he had been dreaming; the second, that Link is still asleep.  
  
Revali quickly concludes that he must have witnessed Link's dreams. He does not remember ever being totally unconscious during his century of imprisonment - merely... unaware, in a different way.  The presence of the Blight always impressed on his senses; sometimes he could catch glimpses of the world beyond his mechanical tomb.  But there was never complete relief from the malicious entity.  Even as a spirit, he doubts he can fall "asleep".  After Medoh's (and his) liberation, he stayed awake three days with no discomfort.  He has not felt fatigue since Link liberated him.  That would suggest he, on his own, is incapable of sleeping.  If he can, it must be rather different than what he's used to from life.   
  
But in retreating to nowhere, he had somehow latched on to Link's fatigue and Link's dreams, and witnessed the thing plaguing the Hero.  He studies the sleeping face of the Hylian Champion and blinks in surprise - there is no suggestion of discomfort anywhere.  The dream was vicious enough to jolt Revali, and Link is either too numb or too exhausted to care to be awakened.  
  
Once again, Revali finds himself concerned.  
  
That thing... does not seem like _just_ a nightmare.  
  
He is a spirit.  He needs no sleep.  
  
The rest of the night, his form casts an otherworldly green glow on their small patch of mountain as he keeps watch over Link's sleep.  The Hero betrays no signs of inner turmoil.  But somehow, Revali knows the nightmares remain.

* * *

Link wakes up in the morning after the campfire dwindles to nothing but embers and leaves his feet cold.  He hurriedly lights the charred wood with his meteor rod and cooks a small breakfast over the open flame.  As he eats, he begins pulling out heavy burgundy armor and changing into it, either ignorant or indifferent to Revali's spirit watching him nearby.  Until Revali, who until that moment opted for silent curiosity, finally snorts.  "What is _that_?  You look like a walking oven."  
  
Link looks up and says nothing.  Only after he's fully equipped himself does he pull a blackened stick from the campfire and begin writing in the snow.  Revali has to squint, but reads "Flamebreaker Armor".    
  
"I have the sneaking suspicion that you mean to venture to Goron City in that sweatbox," Revali mutters, and a wry grin crosses Link's face.  Without bothering to extinguish his campfire, he pulls out the Sheikah Slate.  Revali hears Link tapping along the side that changes display, and wonders what Link has to say.  "Are you finally going to calm Ru-"  
  
And suddenly Revali can't speak, can't _move_ , and his eyes widen as Link disintegrates into threads of ancient energy and ascend to the heavens, but the shock lasts only a moment before he too vanishes.  
  
When Revali becomes aware again, it takes a moment of panic before he realizes that he's in the nowhere again, and just as he begins to calm down the presence of another awareness making contact with his rather _intimately_ almost sets him off again - until he realizes, from the thoughts and emotions projected at him, as well as the ... "flavor", that it is Link.  
  
Link doesn't think in words, either, which is almost as annoying as him not speaking in the physical world.  But unlike there, this does not severely hinder communication.  From his minor irritation to his unbreakable focus, Revali gets a message more clearly than if it had been verbalized.  "Would you calm down?"  
  
"I will _not_ ," Revali replies, via worded thought.  "What in the name of all the goddesses and spirits and their children or whatever did you _fucking do_ ," he hisses, and tries to pretend there isn't a panicked undertone to his words.    
  
In response, another nonverbal barrage comes his way, a mixture of memories as well as lightning-quick understanding: _Shrine of Resurrection-Zelda's voice-"That is a Sheikah Slate.  Take it."-the Old Man on the Plateau (he's the_ King _)-"I have been told that using that Slate you may instantly travel to any of the ancient Shrines and Towers throughout Hyrule. 'Warping', they called it..."_  
  
The way that Link communicates within his mind is much richer than anything Revali had ever anticipated, bits and piece of context he would never have gleaned otherwise spicing the core message, and he tries to reel in his own thoughts.  " _Warping_ , you say?  That's... useful," he admits, although he's still off-center from the sudden experience.  "Let me know next time you do that," he demands, and he feels a twinge of amusement along with the assent that flows his way.  
  
He never thought he would visit Goron City.  Revali takes pride in the fact that he isn't a ridiculous-looking Eldin Ostrich or Hotfeather Pigeon, and Daruk told enough stories of sparrows spontaneously bursting into flames to know better than to go there even on a diet of fireproof elixirs.  Perhaps he'll finally get to see Daruk's old home, and if they've honored his memory in some fashion...  
  
Revali subsides from his own verbal stream to notice that Link has been walking this entire time, and from the hum in the back of Link's mind, augmented by his geographical awareness, Revali can tell that they are headed _away_ from Goron City.  And once again, Revali feels irritation, urgency, even worry bubbling up, because, as he's mentioned once or twice, Hyrule is living on quickly-depleting borrowed time.  He simmers in silence, and because Link has ignored Revali every other time he has tried to keep them on task, Revali decides to let Link forget about his existence for a while.  Perhaps he'll wait until Link is battling a fire chu and then suddenly yell at him for being a negligent dodo and cause him to jump, and then his pants will be on fire... wait, they're Flamebreaker pants, never mind, this is so annoying...  
  
... Perhaps, if he's quiet enough, he'll be able to read Link's waking thoughts like he can his dreams.  Perhaps, if that goes on long enough, he will glean some understanding as to why Link seems so desperate to avoid the Divine Beasts.    
  
So he settles in, and hibernates...

* * *

The lava lakes surrounding the Caldera are blisteringly hot.  Even from within the protective, sapphire-coated shielding of the Flamebreaker's interior, Link still chokes on red-hot ash occasionally.    
  
he makes his way to the edge of the lava lakes.  He uses Revali's Gale plenty.  Before, he would have had to hop across the lakes on the top of metal boxes, or attempt to fly on the minecarts (and after accidentally pitching overboard and nearly falling into the molten rock, he's not keen to try _that_ again no matter how awesome the concept is).  Now it's a simple matter to climb to a high place and fly to the next highest point until he finally reaches the edge of the flames of the Eldin region and he can take off the Flamebreaker armor and trade it for something a bit more motile.  
  
As he stops to change (and he settles on his climbing gear, because the land is still craggy), he tries to sort things out.  
  
Bludo is bedridden with intense back pain, and even after Link busted Yunobo out of that abandoned warehouse, the painkillers had little effect.  The two of them have already made plans to charge Vah Rudania when Link returns to the city.

(But not yet, not yet.)  
  
Link walks down the western slope of the mountain, and sees his target in the distance.  Just as that stable girl said.

He wants to help the Gorons, he does, and they shouldn't have to live in fear of Vah Rudania, but,  
  
_They try to chase him off Death Mountain Trail, rolling at him, he gets knocked back and sent all the way back home and even with Bo's help he barely manages to throw them-_  
  
_Steel construction hugging the mountain, a gathering chamber with a sumo ring, Gor Coron who smacks him silly and yields only when Link cheats using iron boots given to him by the Mayor-_  
  
_and they make him save their chief, a middle-aged warrior, and Link fights his way through fire-breathing lizards too vile and crafty to mention in the same breath as the noble Dinraal, and he fights his way through_ more _Gorons who don't understand he's_ trying to help _, and then he reaches the chief, and Goron and fire and darkness merge into Twilit Igniter Fyrus and Link has to kill it without killing Darbus somehow_ -  
  
_who doesn't remember that he owes Link his life and speaks as though Link is receiving a great honor to be helped by the Goron Chief to break into the hidden village-_  
  
_the Gorons love their hot springs and when they are kind they will give you everything but when you provoke their ire they will come at you with unreasoning fury and he doesn't want to be on the receiving end of that Golem's punch and Goddesses it **hurts-**_  
  
_He remembers being smacked to humiliating defeat and pummeled by the Talus and launched into the air by Dangoro and burned by Fyrus and nearly hugged by Darunia after he saves them from King Dodongo ~~no that's wrong, this is wrong too~~ -_

and it's so hard to remind himself that the Gorons waiting in Goron City aren't the same Gorons as the ones manning Goron Mines; the memories are wrong no matter what Zelda said about the Sheikah Slate and her pictures, he knows Daruk is friendly but all he can think of is how much Daruk's backslaps hurt or Darunia's hugs crush or Darbus' fists spray rubble.  
  
_Friendly Gorons, that's a laugh, and Sheik had told him the Gorons value friendship and call their true friends "Brother" and the Bolero of Fire was to commemorate that fact, that's rich, they only want to show off their strength against him, and take out their anger on Hylians-_  
  
But there are no Gorons on this slope, just a camp of Bokoblins and Moblins, and Link flies above the watchtower and rains death from above and picks up enough gems that just might cover enough arrows to replace the ones he used.  
  
Why did none of them seem to understand how frustrating and how terrifying it was to wake knowing nothing but your name (and only because some formless voice told him so), and then have that formless voice and a cryptic ghost tell you that the world is about to end, that you are the only one who can save it, that you need to make your way across the world to fight this evil thing you saw swarming around the castle, when you don't even know how you know what a castle is or how you know to swing a tree branch like a sword or how you know it shouldn't feel this heavy, this hard, this impossible?  
  
Why did none of them get it?  The world is ending, the world is ending, _the world is ending, he knows_ , but if he's going to stop it, he can't just charge the castle wearing nothing but worn-out clothes, armed with a pot lid and a wooden club.  Destroy Ganon, they tell him; free the Divine Beasts, they tell him; recover your memories, they tell him.  Ruta is about to unleash a flood on Hyrule's lowlands, Rudania causes earthquakes and eruptions the like of which have not been seen in centuries, Gerudo Town lives fear of Naboris' sandstorm advancing on them, but he is still too weak.    
  
He creeps around the the bog, going north instead of south because he respects the power of the Lost Woods and he refuses to take any other path besides the approved one to traverse the ancient forest.  
  
Do they want him to die?  He knows that everyone else's troubles are as real as his, that their lives are threatened as much as his, but if they really want him to save them, they should want him to understand.  Why do they resent him for saying "I will return when I am stronger?"  He seeks out his memories, overcomes the ancient monks' trials, regains the Master Sword, and helps people where he can, he is not stopping for leisure.  
  
He truly, truly wants to save the world.  But why is it they expect him to simply march into evil's den when his life is at risk?  He needs the best armor, the best weapons, the most strength, if he is to save them all.  
  
It does not matter if he can't even walk across the Hyrule without getting lost in memories, if he thought that the only way he would reach Gerudo Desert is via a cannon in Lake Hylia that doesn't exist. It does not matter if he can't truly remember the people who live in this Hyrule, it does not matter if he really is just a divine puppet.  
  
_"Within the shroud of twilight, you turned into a blue-eyed beast... it was a sign that you possess the powers of the one chosen by the goddesses, and that those powers have awakened... look at your awakened form..."_  
  
_"Do not be alarmed, Link... look at yourself..."_  
  
_Green tunic, three golden triangles_  
  
_"This is the destiny you were born into, the very reason that you live.."_  
  
_"Your name is Link.  You are the hero chosen by the gods..."_  
  
_"You are Her Grace's chosen Hero."_  
  
If that is his only purpose for existence, then so be it.  He will save Hyrule even if he does not know the Hyrule he fights to save.

But he will embrace that existence on _his terms_.  
  
And he stands in the middle of the bridge leading into utter darkness, and the sunlight seems to die as it hits the strange fog, and for a second he thinks _exploding phantoms, darkness glistening with malicious red, Link, don't be afraid, they're just shadow crystals, like Zant's "gift" to us, they block out the light, but I'm here with you-_

* * *

Returning to himself feels like coming up for air after diving for far too long and Revali almost materializes, but some deeply primal part of him is afraid that if he manifests as light, this darkness, more absolute than even Ganon's, will swallow him whole.  
  
"Where... are we?" he seems to whisper, and Link tenses as though he forgot Revali existed.  Nevertheless, the wordless answer comes at him in a rush of _stable girl forget-her-name said there was a place shrouded in darkness-Great Deku Tree warned him against the ruins to the north, they look like Zonai but they fell to the enemies within their own hearts rather than the enemies from without and their name, let it be cursed forever-_  
  
_Thyphlo Ruins._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much the same way the Champions might not have any way of knowing about Link's death or memories, I highly doubt Zelda was able to use the Sheikah Slate to warp. It's somewhat of an exercise in being careful about language - Revali doesn't know what 'warping' is, or that the Sheikah Slate has a 'screen'.
> 
> Link's telepathic communication is a lot how I "think". I find that my thoughts aren't actual words unless I'm specifically trying to remember, or anticipate, a verbal interaction. It seems appropriate for someone who speaks as little as Link; everything is so internalized that concepts don't need to be spelled out, understanding lies in more than the words.
> 
> Oh, the Gorons. A one-sentence summary of Gorons is "they get carried away." They're not my favorite race but they're cool, although between their initial antagonism in Twilight Princess and their insistence on hugging Link in Ocarina of Time, I can't imagine his past lives have as many fond memories of Gorons as of other races. I included the Twilight Princess "Goron Golem" which was part of beta materials that later got discarded; I thought it was a cool concept, similar to the Stone Talus, which.. does not shine a positive light on them in this case, haha.
> 
> I love Thyphlo Ruins! ... In theory, not practice, that is, heheh. I haven't written out my comprehensive headcanon for Thyphlo Ruins yet, but I imagine it to be similar to such concepts as Dark Interlopers, Arbiter's Grounds, the actual Majora's Mask, or Stone Tower Temple: an ancient tribe got too cocky with magic man was never meant to know, and paid a terrible, eldritch price.
> 
> Not sure when I get to update again. Work is about to get "fun" (read: crazy stupid stressful busy).


	4. In the Heart of Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was long. And a bitch to write. Seriously this chapter has the Terrible Twos.
> 
> Some liberties taken with the aesthetics of Thyphlo Ruins, belated Happy Halloween and all that :D

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope. We are _not_ going in there," Revali declares with finality. A sort of amused querying sensation comes from Link, which only ruffles Revali's metaphorical feathers. It galls him all the more since he cannot explain the visceral reaction. He is a Rito warrior, not a coward, and he has never been scared of the dark... but a darkness this complete, where the utter emptiness could swallow the light of his spirit whole...?

Calamity Ganon, now that he could stare down with a warrior's trepidation - approach with caution, attack with prejudice - because in a way, Calamity Ganon is _understandable_.  Evil.  Malice.  Hatred.  The timeless incarnation of all those things, the ugliness of Hyrule's shadow, the proving ground for countless Princesses and Heroes beyond measure.  But this darkness is different.  It is featureless, faceless, utterly apathetic, and dangerously unknowable; and only two things impress themselves on Revali's mind; how the fog seems to swallow every last glint of sunlight, and what strange things, with unknown motivations, might lurk within.

He chooses the enemy he understands over the enemy he doesn't, every time. This place is not meant for the living, or any who honor the Goddess. It is forsaken, cursed. Link would do well to turn back.

He belatedly realizes that Link was privy to that thought-stream of his, and gets one in reply; full of conviction to walk into the darkness for the shrine Link just _knows_ is waiting in there. He cannot explain it, but looking at the map, evaluating the journey so far, leaves no room for doubt in the hero's mind. Revali wants to protest, wants to rant, wants to stay back, but before he can make his thoughts known, Link steps over the center of the bridge, and the abyss engulfs them.

"Traveler from beyond this woods, you are now faced with a trial... Find the shrine hidden in these dark ruins..."

For a brief second, a satisfied resolve resonates in Link's mind, and then he focuses on the task at hand and the resources at his disposal. The Sheikah Slate beeps erratically, leaving its owner to conclude there are multiple treasure chests in the ruins. There are two bird-shaped lanterns ahead, facing different directions. Several torches lie scattered on the ground. The solution could not be any more obvious.

Link picks up three of the torches ( _always be prepared, always have extra_ ) and lights the second lantern before following one beak into the depths of the woods. No sooner does he raise the torch to study the foliage when he sees a face in the shadows, which promptly vanishes. Revali, who has valiantly tried to retreat inward, feels the cold thrill of surprise just as Link does, and his focus is drawn to the place where the phantom in Link's memory imprints itself on Revali's mind. He hears Link's thoughts racing, trying to identify the creature. Or person - because his mind whispers _not-quite-Korok-forest-child_ , and _not-quite-Korok-forest-child_ means friendship and safety in the wraps of an enchanted wood-

_The Great Deku Tree-_

_turning black, wilting, dying-_

And the onslaught stops. Only confusion remains, and Link, for about the millionth time in his life, shakes off the feeling that nothing is right here and keeps moving. He ignores the Sheikah Sensor, picking up multiple treasure chest signals. He can retrieve those once they reach the shrine. He turns back, checks the bird torch in the distance; he's still going the right way. He keeps moving. The distance between the bird torches is growing. He doesn't falter.

A thunderous rustling of wings warns him that a flock of Keese circles overhead, and he tosses his torch before they spot him, swoop down screeching over the torch as it flies. He crawls, as quietly as possible, to where it lies smoking in the grass.

"If you have extra wood, you could light a campfire," Revali suggests, and to his surprise Link nods and takes him up on it. Then again, it's easy to humor such a request when you have a magic back that contains hundreds of monster spoils, three weeks' worth of meals, twenty swords, twenty shields, and almost two hundred bundles of firewood. Revali has no idea whether or not to die of jealousy or just... marvel. "You could make a killing selling that bag," he remarks neutrally, and gets an audible chuckle in response.

Link proceeds a bit more cautiously, now that he knows there is wildlife in the ruins. He moves softly to avoid exciting Keese flock, or a wolf pack, and in the darkness he starts to wonder how much longer it will be until he reaches the shrine, and just as he wonders this he hears a deep, nasal rumbling. As he moves on to the next torch, it resolves itself - the deep groan of a snoring Hinox.

"What fun," Revali idly comments, voice saturated with sarcasm. Hinoxes had been a rare problem in Hyrule a century ago. They were few in number, and tended to stay away from population centers because even normal soldiers, in sufficient numbers, could bring one down. But as Link reviews his battles against previous Hinoxes, it's clear that their numbers have practically exploded without a military to keep them in check.

A red-skinned one would be easiest, but a blue one wearing wooden greaves would almost be better, because then he would have an excuse to set fire to absolutely everything - allowing him to see in the darkness and inflict damage at the same time.

He nearly walks into a pair of wooden greaves attached to blue legs, and that answers his question rather tidily.  His stealth clothes silence his footfalls as he backs away from the Hinox, drawing a multi-arrow bow he scavenged from a Lynel. Out come the bomb arrows, and Link feels a twinge of amusement as the bow's residual magic kicks in, and one hissing fuse becomes five. He backs up, draws, aims... fires.

The area around them is immediately awash in a fiery glow that lasts only a fraction of a second, but it's enough to illuminate the area completely. It seems to be some sort of ancient ceremonial site, the three walls almost closing them in decorated with carvings ornate and obscure. The dragons that twist along the stone seem grotesque when compared to the majesty of the three great attendants that circle Hyrule's skies, and the bird creatures, covered in scales, grin with lengthy, lopsided tongues and sadistic glee.

But it is a small detail, one Link might have overlooked had he not caught quite the right angle, that causes him to freeze. He notices just how white the walls are. And how in some places they jut out with strange protrusions. Empty eye sockets grin hollowly back.

The Hinox's skin looks sickly for that brief moment as the behemoth howls in pain and stumbles blindly, and at the top of the construction Link can barely make out hundreds of beady eyes of creatures watching from the darkness, and among them, two eyes in a vibrant purple face burning with amber fury at everything.

Then the light is gone, save for a few embers of burning grass, and the Hinox lurches to its feet. Its lone eye stands out in the darkness like the sun, until its fingers clasp over it for protection. Despite his own dark clothing and its sound-dampening ability, the Hinox follows Link's movements unimpeded, and in the pitch blackness, Link's means of defense are minimal. A fist slams down on him, knocking the wind out of him, bruising muscles and bones, and the hero shakily clambers to his feet. He rolls out of the way as the Hinox screeches, and barely avoids the monster jumping around, slapping the ground with both hands strong enough to send shockwaves through the air.

"Do you have a fire rod?" Revali practically shouts, and Link does one better and equips a meteor rod. He frowns in dismay at the glowing orb that houses the Death Mountain ore. It's cracked, the glow within pulsing violently, a sure sign that it will break on the next hit. Going for the greaves will require-

"Just light everything up!" Revali shouts again, battle-high making him almost giddy at the thought, and surprisingly, Link obliges. He crouches, meteor rod extended, and lets loose a spin attack which shoots roaring fireballs in all directions. The courtyard immediately heats up as the flaming comets bounce off the stone, sear the grass, and set fire to the small trees growing in the area. The rod shatters, and for a moment Link's hand burns, but the pained screech and frantic stomping and thrashing of the Hinox compel him to draw a sturdy broadsword and hack away at the newly-exposed weak points. Flames dance around him in dangerously close quarters, singing his hair and clothes, finding no shortage of real estate on the Hinox's gigantic body, and for a second Link blinks and thinks the entire Hinox crackles with flame, and all he can think is _Fyrus_.

Their sense of victory, however, is short-lived.  Without light, Link does not see the Hinox's fist come in swinging, and the explosion of pain that ripples through from the connected fist and slamming up against stone sends shocks even through Revali.  Both of them dazed and disoriented, Link struggles to get back to his feet and figure out which way gravity works. The Hinox looms dangerously over him, dying before them from utter immolation, but something stirs in the single yellow eye and Revali just _knows_ that it intends to crush Link with the last of its strength.

He moves without thinking. On nothing but instinct, Revali disassociates his spirit from Link's soul, and the whiplash from the sudden absence of pain almost sends him hurtling again from overcompensation.  He summons as much strength as he possibly can, as a mere spirit, and channels it outward with overwhelming force. Hurricane-force gales explode out from him on all sides, accompanied by a flash of unearthly green light from the core of his spirit. Blinded by the light and buffeted by the wind, the Hinox stumbles over backwards and slowly curdles and dissolves in a puff of dark flakes of Malice.

In the sudden absence of critical danger, the forest seems very quiet and very still to Revali, and then he recalls his companion. "Link-"

He turns, and blue eyes filled with a wild mixture of loathing and horror glare back.

_The green glow is exploding but it is darkness that bursts from the immaterial body of the Phantom, covering the ground in a thick fog of dark crystals that will coat him and change him, Twilit babas sprouting and hissing with acidic saliva, Twilit Keese charging as an aggressive cloud, Twilit vermin crawling out and they just keep coming and coming and coming-_

_"My god had only one wish. To merge light and shadow... and create **darkness!**!"_

And the last thing Revali sees is the glint of the Master Sword, right before it finds a home in his chest.

* * *

Waking up is an incredibly disorienting experience for the spirit who has no need of unconsciousness. As Revali comes to and tries to rewind, find out exactly when and why he went under, he slowly realizes that he did not, in fact, get "knocked out" in the traditional sense.

It must have been a self-preservation reflex, he concludes, because anyone, seeing a blade of such superior craftsmanship like the Master Sword, finding that sword buried in their chest as a spirit, might need a few minutes to process the situation. And that instinct seems dead on, because he watches the past few minutes from the third-person perspective of memories he did not directly share, of Link collecting the glowing orb that hung from the Hinox's neck, of placing it in a glowing Sheikah pedestal, of a shrine rising out of the ground, of Link entering it.

And they are in it now, and Revali cautiously makes his presence known to Link again, and feels a sort of smugness that Link's own consciousness bristles with embarrassment.

He'll milk that for all it's worth later. For now, he watches quietly. Link entered the shrine, and waited for him to gather his wits within the safety of its confines. The Rito feels enthused to personally witness the ancient Sheikah architecture firsthand, despite the events leading up to their arrival, and drinks in the smooth walls, the monk suspended in a ten thousand year stasis, the magic and technology that lights the spatial chamber and the panel that will take them back outside once their business is concluded. If Zelda knew what Revali was seeing now, she would seethe with jealousy.

"... Are you all right?"

Link's mind-voice makes Revali mentally jump, because, as he realizes at that moment, he's never heard Link's voice before. He has no idea what he was expecting, and for a second all he can do is gape. After a long moment in which he tries to impose order over the chaotic white noise going through his own head, he replies. "Why did you attack me?"

The voice is silent again, but the sight of _Phantom Zant erupting into corrupted twilight crystal_ plays through Link's mind again with a silent sentiment. _I think you know._

"No, I can't say I do. What snippets I get from you are about as comprehensible as the belief Rito children have, that praying to a sky dragon will give you a magical scale that will let you fly higher than ever and allow you to enter a magical kingdom that floats above the clouds."

That elicits and disbelieving scoff from Link, and Revali lets the mood settle as he thinks back to what happened. He hums and tries to think if the Master Sword hurt. It didn't. But perhaps its strange magic sent him back into Link?

_No. You vanished before the sword connected, and everything went dark._

Revali doesn't have a comment, so he says nothing as Link approaches the ancient Sheikah monk, enclosed on all sides by panels of light that probably enforced a stasis spell to keep him sustained for this long. He watches with respect as the monk greets Link with pride and bestows upon him the last of his life energy in the form of a Spirit Orb. It connects, and a sense of relief and vitality flows through the hero, leaving him stronger than he was before even as the monk dissolves before his very eyes.

Revali keeps quiet as Link whispers a short prayer for the monk, as he does for all the others, and leaves the safety and well-lit confines of the shrine for the darkness of the woods.

More torches and campfires burn brightly in the clearing now that the danger has passed, but even so, Link sits down by one of the campfires and takes note of glowing green eyes staring at him from the rest of the woods. Wolf pack. Intent on ignoring monsters and predators when he can, Link moves quickly, this time following the Sheikah sensor in search of treasure.

They continue in silence, Link content to let the hum of mental static fill his mind, and Revali content to passively observe it. The equilibrium holds, admittedly, for some time, but even if Link is a hero chosen by the sword that seals the darkness, he is still a man with his own demons, and the doubts and visions slowly but surely work their way to the forefront of his mind once again. It starts small; the skittering of a small forest creature and agile limbs vanishing into the depths bring to mind more of the vermin, with tendrils hanging off their pointed faces in a hideous sweep of growth. The dark fog around them reminds him of the dark crystals, of the beasts with massive flattened faces, grotesque tentacles falling to the ground in a heap around them, their hideous roars... Midna crouching low as she sat on his back, stroking his ears and whispering "the crystals will change your form, Link, but they won't curse you like the other one did. just keep moving, and once we get out of the fog I can change you back..."

_" Some call it a world of shadows, but that just makes it sound unpleasant," she says, as if pleading her case. Her eyes hold a faraway look, and Link knows she is thinking of how she misses her world, how she misses the shroud of twilight that briefly covered Hyrule, if only because it reminded her of the home she loves. "The twilight there holds a serene beauty. You have seen it yourself as the sun sets on this world. Bathed in that light, all people were pure and gentle... But things changed once that foul power pervaded our world..."_

_The Ancient Sages appear, full of remorse, and Link's heart skips a beat as they reveal Midna's last secret; that she is royalty of her world, chased out by Zant's fanaticism._

_"In our world, we've long believed the hero would appear as a divine beast," Midna explains quietly. "So when I saw you, I thought I could use you, Link. I didn't care about your world. I only wanted to save mine." Remorse shimmers in her eyes, along with unshed tears, before resolve brushes them away. "But I've seen the hardships your world has faced because of Zant. I've seen the selfless sacrifices you and Zelda have made. I now know, in the bottom of my heart, that I must save this world too. There is no other way."_

_Zelda..._

_a lavender gown, ocean blue eyes, long brown hair done in a low braid, and a quiet dignity even as a corrupted descendant of the dark interlopers locked her in her own castle-_

_-hovering catatonic in the great Triforce emblem above the throne as Ganondorf cackled-_

_-an explosion, Midna hurtling out of the throne room-_

_-and suddenly it's Zelda standing there, and her skin is bleached deathly pale, with horrible glowing lines crawling all over her that look like chains, and her eyes burn yellow and cold.  "Both of you, faithless fools who would dare take up arms against the king of light and shadow...  So you choose.  And so you shall feel my wrath!"_

_The puppet cackles again, a truly awful sound, before rising into the air and drawing an elegant rapier primed for malice-_

How can he bear to remember this Zelda who regards him with such resentment, now that all he can think of is this puppet who tried to plunge a sword through his heart? All he wants is to save the world, and find out why Zelda dislikes him, and why that hurts so much. And, if he can, maybe he will try to find that strange holy temple in the depths of the desert, the Arbiter's Grounds. He wishes Midna were here. A friend would make this journey much less painful. Traveling with nothing but the Sheikah Slate and the one Champion who dislikes him more than Zelda... is disheartening. But he will keep moving forward, because he has to.

Link is pulled from his thoughts as he unearths a star fragment, and the Sheikah Slate finally quiets down. The last treasure chest, it seems. He has no need to visit this place again, and as he warps away, he thinks he sees, one last time, the soulless eyes of a mask hellbent on destruction staring back at him.  But perhaps it's merely yet another illusion.

* * *

It is only after much coaxing that Revali convinces Link to get some rest. Though curative elixirs and the newly acquired Spirit Orb took care of most of Link's injuries, the fatigue and mental stress accumulated in the ruins remain. Link chooses the spend the night in Rito Village, which surprises Revali. Link trudges down to the inn and splurges on a down-feather bed.  Revali lets himself internally hum with satisfaction that Link appreciates Rito down, and gets a note of amusement back, but the hero collapses on the bed in exhaustion and sleep does not take long to claim him.

Revali keeps his own awareness at wing's length this time.  If he is too close, he submerges into dreams as well.  If he is too far away, he does not see them.  With an abundance of caution, he embarks on a mission to straddle the two states of awareness. What results is the most bizarre duality, one that he can barely put into words.  Aware of the world passing, aware of the hiccups in time within the phantasmagoria of someone's dreams, he feels pulled in two diametrically opposed directions; he quickly come to terms that the balancing act will not hold for the entire night.  For a moment, he lets his consciousness turn more towards the dreamscape. 

It seems that the hero is thoroughly spent, too tired to conjure nightmares to torment himself with.  If the flitting of familiar faces he's never seen before can be disqualified as 'nightmares', that is...  Satisfied that Link will not toss and turn all night, Revali withdraws and materializes, perched on Medoh's beak.

Yeti.  Snowy castle.

Goron Mines.  Discord.

Twilight crystals.  Zant.  Midna.

When Link 'explains' something to him, such as the concept of 'warping', the context is freely given; and Revali mutters to himself exactly what warping is, to confirm to himself that this theory is correct.  The context from the eavesdropped memories, if indeed they are memories, he finds he can only partially retain.  He can picture the strange yeti creature Link asked about, as well as the castle it lives in, and he knows that the fragments of scenes he imagines are significant to Link, but all the understanding he had in that dream, all the familiarity, fails recall.   

And then there is the question of the "real memories", because yetis do not live in Hebra, and Midna is not lurking in the darkness of Thyphlo Ruins, and Ilia is not the longtime friend he set out to save.  Revali frowns.  Link claimed that he has gotten most of his memories back, yet he seems under the impression that Zelda resents him. The Rito warrior is well aware of the princess' change of heart towards her attendant knight.  While waiting at the base of Mount Lanayru and mouthing off, Urbosa went into great detail about Link's heroic exploits against the Yiga Clan - something she was only able to accomplish because of Zelda's own generous gushing.  It's almost... sickeningly sweet, in a way, but Revali feels a smile twitch on his beak. 

And then a thought strikes him like lightning, and the smile fades into a look of concentration.

Perhaps Link had not recalled that particular experience.  Had he stopped at the bazaar on his way to Gerudo Town?  Had he even visited Gerudo Town?  Revali isn't sure, and makes a note to ask in the morning.  Perhaps he can convince Link to go to the desert for answers.  Perhaps he can coax the reluctant hero to speak with the chieftain of the Gerudo.  Perhaps, if he prays hard enough, his fellow Champion will elect to appease Naboris and get answers straight from Urbosa herself.

Revali's grin is back in full force as he contemplates the possibilities of this course of action.  The night begins to fade, and Revali allows most of his spirit to return to hero sleeping away in the inn below, preening with satisfaction.

* * *

Link sleeps through most of the morning. Revali almost wants to burst out of the limbo of the mind space and squawk until he wakes up, but he has dignity and a desire to avoid scaring living Rito if at all possible. Medoh's Champion decides that the hero has earned a small rest, and remembers with guilt Link's less-than-favorable thoughts of him last night. It was true that he disliked Link back then, and perhaps he's being harsh on him still, so he has no right to complain.

He'll broach the subject with Link carefully, then.

Once Link wakes up and enjoys a late breakfast of honey crepes, Revali speaks up in the back of his mind. "Link. I saw some of your memories yesterday. You... you are aware that Zelda is fond of you, aren't you?"

Link stiffens at the implications of Revali seeing his memories, and Revali doesn't really blame him for that, but once he poses the question, Link's posture slowly relaxes as he frowns and considers it.  All he can think of is _Zelda sighing at him as she conducted the sacred ceremony, Zelda wondering about Link's skill by the shores of Lake Kolomo, Zelda demanding Link leave her alone, Zelda pleading for help at the Spring of Power, Zelda witnessing the rebirth of Calamity Ganon with horror and despair, Zelda weeping that she'd failed everyone, Zelda laying the Master Sword to rest in the safety of the woods_ -

To cut off Link's cascade of self-deprecation, Revali speaks up again. "While you were up on Mount Lanayru, Urbosa related a story of you saving Zelda from Yiga assassins at Kara Kara Bazaar. If you haven't gone there, I would suggest you do so. At the very least, you could assess the situation with Vah Naboris. Perhaps... scout the desert for this place you seek. Arbiter's Grounds."

Something sour and resigned is Link's only response, and Revali realizes with a bit of dismay that Link saw through him immediately. He's not even sure why it is he feels guilty about it, until it occurs to him that he feels guilty about being a dodo to Link this entire time, guilty about trying to manipulate him, and with the current state of affairs, the least Revali could do is be civil. Still, Link sees the logic in the suggestion and considers it.

He'd briefly visited the bazaar, but he had been distracted by Naboris suddenly raging and advancing a bit closer to Gerudo Town. He'd trudged through the deep sand in the middle of the day with only a single chilly elixir sustaining him, but he hadn't found a way in. The tension was palpable even on the outside of the walls. Then he'd been forced to regroup at the bazaar, and met Rhondson, and accompanied her to Tarrey Town, and one thing led to another...

He barely remembers Urbosa, but he knows she was caring and wise. She would know what to say, what to do, if he told her that he was having trouble relating to Zelda or keeping Midna from wandering out of his dreams and into his waking thoughts. Perhaps, as a Gerudo, she will be able to tell him how a man like Ganondorf could exist. How a man such as him becomes something as mindless as the Calamity.

He opens the Slate. Selects the Gerudo Canyon Stable. And flies.


	5. In the Endless Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of dialogue I'm sorry

"... I... don't understand."

It's ironic that Link _speaks_ when _thoughts_ fail him, Revali notes with ironic amusement and no small amount of exasperation.

The sun has set low enough that the day's glare no longer makes sitting in direct sunlight a death wish, so Link sits with his feet in the pool of water at Kara Kara Bazaar and tries to piece together his thoughts.

Now he knows when, and why, Zelda's opinion of him began turning into something more favorable. Now he has seen the reason... him learning of the Yiga ambush, watching her run from them in vain, pushing his body to the limit to get to her before their blades did, just _barely_ making it, and, once the danger had passed, glancing down to make sure his charge was unhurt, only to see her looking up at him with admiration in her eyes and a dusting of pink on her cheeks.

He had thought, before, that it was the rush of adrenaline, or exertion from her urgent flight, that made her react in that way. Apparently, not so.

And now he's left at the Bazaar trying to reconcile the Zelda who has the beginnings of an infatuation with the Zelda that yelled at him to stay away with the possessed Zelda whose dark hair fell out of her elaborate braids as they batted a ball of explosive lightning between the ends of their swords-

"She... should have... been upset, that I needed to rescue her. That I showed her up again," Link argues.  Maybe there's some merit there.  After all, Zelda had initially resented Link precisely because of the skills that had saved her, especially stacked up against the humiliation of her own failures.  But near-death experiences have a way of changing perspective like nothing else can.  Link's current predicament is a testament to that.  Revali voices these thoughts to him.

The hero sighs and decides that muttering to himself at the edge of the bazaar doesn't do anything to help, so he stands, stretches, and begins walking off his excess nervous energy.

"What's on your mind? What do you think?" Revali presses him.

He doesn't _know_ what to think about it, if that weren't obvious. Almost mechanically, he heads over to the fruit vendor and cleans her out of hydromelons. One grunt and finger-point at the cooking pot later, and he uses it with her grumbled permission to throw together a few cooling dishes and a spicy elixir for good measure. He doesn't remember much of the desert, but the bug-vendor at Gerudo Canyon Stable warned him about the extreme fluctuations in temperature out on the open dunes, and he isn't inclined to wander onto the shifting sands without sufficient protection.

He climbs to the top of the inn to gauge how far away Gerudo Town is in the fading daylight. He judges it acceptable, drinks the spicy elixir, and leaps into the air, with Revali's Gale giving him the extra boost to glide that much further.

The deep sand makes walking an absolute chore, and a couple of times throughout the night he sees tall Gerudo women practically dancing over the dunes as they cross between the town and the bazaar. They shoot him fewer curious glances than he expected, and their lack of surprise or defensiveness is quickly explained when he comes across one Gerudo bartering with a merchant who had been turned away from town. (He still thinks it's odd to conduct trade at night, but their business is not his business, and he continues.)

It's only after he reaches town at the first glimmer of sunrise when he remembers the Daqo Chisay shrine, which he activated but forgot to complete, that he realizes two things: first, he could have simply warped there (causing Revali much consternation); and second, a man is using the shrine as cover to watch the entrance gate obsessively.

Link approaches the man, and a second later regrets the fact that he came up behind the unsuspecting soul.

"GAH!  Where did you come from?!"

Revali's attention startles as the portly merchant sprawled on the sand in front of Link shouts a mite too loud for either champion's comfort.  The Rito Champion is treated to _I've seen him here before, spying,_ _trying to figure out how to get in, might as well give it a shot._ Link levels a most unimpressed look at the merchant, who promptly puffs up with indignation and scrambles to his feet.  "I am NOT spying!" he declares loudly, a little _too_ loudly, at the unspoken accusation.  "It's research.  _Research_ , I tell you!  I'm trying to figure out how to get in, and I have a lead.  I bet you want to hear it too, don't you?"  He snickers at Link's nod.  "Not so noble yourself, huh?  Well, I'll tell you.  I've heard that there's a merchant who works between here and Kara Kara Bazaar, who was able to slip past the guards.  I plan on intercepting him to ask how he infiltrated! But I've been waiting here for a week and I haven't seen any sign of him...  Let me know if you do, okay?"

Link nods again, and Revali is almost impressed at the ferocity of _not_ -impressed going on in Link's mind until the hero promptly makes for the bazaar again, ignoring his fatigue and the steady rising of the sun in the east.  _It's obvious, so painfully, painfully obvious._   If a male merchant managed to slip past guards as alert and fierce as the two guarding town, it's because he didn't look male.  Which means...

* * *

"Suspicious?  No, I haven't seen any suspicious voe.  The only other customer at the inn is a vai merchant.  A Hylian, much like yourself.  She likes to spend her afternoons on the roof, though I imagine it gets brutally hot up there..." the Gerudo says, rather impatient to get back to her book.  "Please speak to me only if it's important."

 _Thank you_ , Link signs, but the Gerudo is already reading again, and he hurries out to climb the side of the inn.

When Link gets to the top, he sees the woman - the vai - as expected, but she looks a little off. Broad shoulders, and not much in the way of hips to speak of, though her long red hair could offer something in the way of appeal.

"...Oh, my," she murmurs when she turns and notices Link. Her voice sounds subdued, restrained. "What a lovely young lad you are. Can I help you with something?"

Link stays silent for a long moment. Revali's about to snap at him to say something, anything, when he coughs out a few words. "Sneaky... merchant man? Know him?"

"... Hm...." The woman pauses, lost in thought. "I had heard some of the other merchants whispering about rumors that a certain man had managed to sneak into Gerudo Town to do business. Is that who you mean?" Link nods gratefully. The woman only looks sheepish. "I'm really sorry, but I don't know anything about him," she admits in that soft, restrained voice.

"Funny, using the word 'him' as if she knows 'him'," Revali comments, and yes, Link knows, all the clues are right in front of him, and he watches his rooftop companion carefully for a long moment.

"...What's wrong?  Say something!  Am I so beautiful that I struck you speechless?" she winks.

And just like that, Link feels like his heart launched out of his chest, because it's not the merchant saying those words, i _t's a woman he doesn't recognize yet knows like the back of his hand, with her toothy grins, snarky remarks, and sunset-shaded eyes. His heart swells because Midna's **alive** , she's alive and she's free of her curse and she's still the same Midna he's grown to know and **love** -_

"Sir, are you all right??" the merchant is alarmed.

And Link feels himself yanked back into the reality he barely has a grip on, and nods, more to reassure himself than the merchant.

"You don't look so good," she frets, and Revali keeps his spiritual existence as still and silent as possible, because _oh_.

"I'm fine. Thank you," Link grits out. He focuses on Vah Naboris, rampaging in the distance. He needs to find a way to blend in as Gerudo, so he can speak to the chief, so he can enlist some of the soldiers to help him board that machine, so he can fight a being of pure evil, so he can keep moving on and _on and on_....

She continues to stare at him, and now it's Link's turn to feel small under someone's gaze. "You sure seem fascinated by that monster out in the desert," she remarks. "And judging from that look on your face, it seems you want to do something about it."

"Yes."

"I see..." she mutters. "Well, the best person to ask about dealing with it would be the Gerudo Chief. Though, as a voe, the guards doubtless didn't let so much as one of your toes through their front gates ... But, if you wore this style of clothing, I'm sure they'd look at you completely differently!" Her eyes light with a very familiar mischief that has Link reeling again. "After all, these clothes only help _my_ looks, so why not _yours_?" The merchant ends his proposal with a conspiratorial wink.

Link raises his eyebrow and nods slowly, and the merchant beams with delight. He keeps his voice soft, but lets it fall to its natural range. "These clothes are sold separately in town, and at higher prices, but I'll charge you the entire outfit for a modest six hundred rupees," he offers, and Link holds out his hand to shake. The merchant looks ecstatic to get to work, and with a squeal, goes off to find a good set of clothing. Finding himself alone on the roof, Link can only wonder what the hell he's gotten himself into.

* * *

"If it's any consolation, you look absolutely _fetching_ ," Revali snickers, and Link's cheeks bloom with color and Revali feels the rush of heat himself. And it's true.  They only catch a quick glimpse of the outfit in the Bazaar's pond, but attract enough attention to prove that Link can pull off the "Hylian vai" look rather well.  The merchants at the Bazaar fawn over the disguised Hero, and the Gerudo all paid Link at least two compliments - the first, for a Hylian vai enduring enough to make it across the desert unscathed, and the second, for a Hylian vai to wear traditional Gerudo clothing so well.

Link fumes as the warp lands him at the base of Daqo Chisay shrine, and Revali finds that, for all intents and purposes, he _can_ in fact howl with laughter even mid-warp.  Link's sudden presence startles the spying merchant leader once again, but this time he asks the pretty lady out on a date.  Revali collapses into more laughter as Link turns crimson, and both of them silently mark the tally at eight.

 _Do you think I should tell him?_ Link thinks to Revali.

"Hmm..." Revali weighs their options. On one hand, the look on the merchant's face would be priceless. However, they do need to maintain secrecy to get in, and even one pair of loose lips could ruin this tactic. "Perhaps once our business is concluded."

Link can agree to that, but just as he's about to enter town, another man sidles up to him.

"H-hey there. Sa... Sav'aaq! Name's Bozai. I'm thirty-five, single, and _love_ jogging. Especially on sand," he says breathlessly, no doubt trying to sound composed. Link is thankful for the veil covering the bottom half of his face, because he just feels awkward, and Revali is torn between cringing on Link's behalf and laughing at his misfortune, and with their emotions feeding off each other, the resulting grimace would make the Calamity itself cry. "Check out these sand boots," Bozai continues, showing off the footwear. "They're extremely rare and let you walk on deep sand as though it were solid ground."

... Okay, now that sounds useful, admittedly. Especially since when Link investigated the valley of Seven Swordswomen, he spent the better part of the day wading knee-deep in the dunes.

"You... _want_ my boots?" Bozai sounds uncertain, but he certainly reads the look of fixation on Link's face accurately. "Look, I'd love to help you, but like I said, these are rare, and-" Bozai cuts himself off and taps his chin with a look of intense concentration on his face. Judging by the drivel that comes out of his mouth next, it's easy to conclude his plot. "Okay. I'll make you a deal. These are really special boots, so I can't just give them away, even if you _are_ absolutely adorable. I'd like something in return. So... have you ever heard of the Eighth Heroine?"

Link blinks, and then holds up seven fingers.

"Oh, so you are familiar with the Seven Swordswomen of Gerudo tradition! Well, some tell of an eighth heroine. She was wiped clean from history, and no one knows how... or why. A phantom heroine, known to all, but seen by none. I've been fascinated by her since I was a child. So, if you can find her, I'll give you these boots."

Link contemplates the request for a moment before making a single hand sign.

"Statue...? Yes, according to those who idolize the Eighth Heroine's legend, supposedly she is enshrined in the Gerudo Highlands. Because of the red hue of the rock that makes up the Highlands, they call her the Bronze Giant. It's a cool name, don't you think? Anyway, find the statue, and show me a picture of her. Make sure the head is fully visible! I'll lend you my snow boots so you can walk in the snow more easily, but I'll need them back. And you can probably find a scholar or two in Gerudo Town who can tell you more about their legends if you need some more guidance." With that, Bozai hands over his pair of snow boots and offers a much more confident farewell, complete with a wink.

His abrupt departure leaves Link blinking in his wake.

"Well." Revali says after a long moment. "He was weird."

* * *

"You... can calm Naboris."

Though she is barely older than a child, Makeela Riju is no fool.  And the look she appraises Link with now rivals his own 'I am not impressed' expression.  In lieu of words, Link nods.  After a moment, a thought occurs to him, and he holds up the Sheikah Slate, reminding Riju of its presence.  He then draws the Master Sword and extends it, pointed down in a non-aggressive grip, for the Gerudo to inspect.

"The Master Sword," Buliara breathes.  Riju blinks, and frowns in concentration.

"As a little girl, my mother would tell me legends of the Calamity that befell Hyrule. And of the Princess, who supposedly placed a gifted swordsman into an enchanted slumber, so that he would later awaken and defeat the Calamity. It would appear that you are indeed that Hylian Champion from the legend," Riju admits, and her face becomes much more open.  "Although you are undeniably a voe, you present a most exceptional circumstance.  As chief of the Gerudo, I will gladly ally with you to calm the Divine Beast.  However, charging Naboris will be no simple feat."

Link quirks an eyebrow, and Riju sighs as she reclines on one elbow.

"Naboris fires terrible bolts of lightning on all who draw too close," Riju explains, and judging from Buliara's harsh glare at Riju and Riju's refusal to be chastised, Link and Revali draw their own conclusions about how Riju knows this. "And it draws power from the ground with each footfall. In order to board Naboris, you would need to damage the feet while protecting yourself from the lightning. And the only object in all of Hyrule that can withstand lightning from Naboris is the Thunder Helm..."

The melancholy tone of Riju's voice makes Revali attentive with curiosity and Link stiff with dread. Bad news.

"A few weeks ago, our most prized heirloom, the Thunder Helm, was stolen from us," Builara admits through gritted teeth.  "A band of thieves entered town, stole the heirloom, and vanished like smoke in the wind."

"These thieves?" Link coughs.

"We do not know much about them, but we have sent soldiers on rotating shifts to scout the entire desert for intrigue. I must remain here and attend to my duties, as must the other soldiers, in case..." Riju trails off, a dark expression on her face. Once again, Buliara picks up where she left off. "Consult with Captain Teake at the barracks and learn what you can from her. If you plan on going after the thieves, the soldiers can provide the best intel, and equip you for such a mission. But don't let anyone else know you're a voe!"

"... Do not fail. Please." Riju says, looking very small at that moment. The expression she gives Link makes his heart clench, because she may have charged Naboris herself, but the thought of her people dying fills her with fear. She is a promising chief, but she is also very young, with nowhere to hide and allow herself a moment of weakness. Link nods, and heads out to the barracks without another word.

He won't fail.

* * *

The contours of the Wasteland Region make more sense now that he understands the geography of Karusa Valley, based on the soldier Liana's report. It doesn't stop him from thinking it slightly ridiculous, though. Especially how narrow the canyon is - it might as well be a crevice, and in his tactical mind, all Link can think is that he's going to be funneled into an increasingly narrow space with an increasingly concentrated population of vagabonds who pledge loyalty to pure evil.

"The other end of the valley goes into the highlands. You could try from that direction," Revali suggests. Both of them think _Highlands Eighth Heroine Statue sand boots_ , but Link decides against that after a moment's consideration. Entering from the far side would require copious amounts of hiking, even with Revali's Gales, and taking into account the harsh climate, the cold-weather hiking would leave him drained going up against ruthless assassins. Neither option is good, but depending on how the Valley looks, they might be able to disguise their entrance by moving in the shadows and following the trail from up high.

Link spends the rest of the evening in Gerudo Town, hogging one of the communal cooking pots to prepare an abundance of elixirs. He trades quite a few gemstones for all the arrows the vendor can offer him, accepts every weapon the Gerudo soldiers insist he take, and books a bed at the Hotel Oasis complete with the spa plan at the insistence of some eager townsfolk. After a very awkward massage session (for him and Revali, at least), he collapses into bed and reviews what he knows about the Yiga Clan.

Which is... not at lot. Both Impa and Cado had been vague about the traitorous Sheikah, and although Dorian had been slightly more forthcoming the night Link had recovered the Kakariko Village heirloom, he also hadn't supplied any information Link did not specifically ask for. What bothers Link most is the sudden realization that their timeline doesn't make sense. All the Sheikah in Kakariko claimed that the Yiga had splintered ages ago, sometime back at the height of Hyrule's technological era; however, according to the disguised Yiga who constantly accost Link on the roads, their current Master is the one who founded the clan. Either one party is blatantly lying, or Master Kohga is ancient.

And if Master Kohga is ancient...

What, exactly, is Link about to fight?

* * *

_"For ages, the people who dwelt in the light were content in mind and body... content with what the Goddesses had blessed them," a divine voice intones. "But as word of the Sacred Realm spread, interlopers skilled with magic used their sorcery to try and establish dominion over all. We, the Light Spirits, sealed away the interlopers and the sorcery they mastered. You know this magic... you seek this dark power... the Fused Shadow...."_

_The dark helm that had previously obscured the Triforce floats around Link in four pieces, calling out to him. Tempting him. But Ilia's green eyes, with something very wrong shining in them, fall past him into a dark abyss, giggling playfully all the while._

_"Oh, Hero, chosen by the three golden goddesses... Beware...Never forget that those who do not know the dangers of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it...."_

_A cackle that does not belong to someone as sweet as Ilia echoes through the void like shattering glass, and then **nothing**._

Link wakes up, not with a start or a cold sweat, but gradually, with a feeling of foreboding. And Revali, only slightly more confused than Link, cannot help but agree.

No, not a good omen at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay time to eat a turkey and then my weight in mashed potatoes Happy Thanksgiving and BYE


End file.
